911 operator accused of being 'rude', 'condescending' to drowning woman before she died

A US police department has released alarming audio of a 911 operator telling a distressed caller to "shut up" before she drowned.

Debra Stevens, 47, was swept away in her vehicle by a flash flood in Arkansas on August 24, the Fort Smith Police Department said in a statement. 

By the time first responders reached the vehicle more than an hour after her 911 call, Stevens had drowned.

The department "reluctantly" released the audio of Stevens' call on Thursday after numerous media requests. The recording, beginning after Stevens called for help at 4:38am (local time), has since been edited to remove sensitive content.

The 22-minute audio has faced intense backlash, with many outraged locals labelling the 911 operator's attitude as "rude", "condescending", "disrespectful" and "disgusting".

The dispatcher, who has been identified as Donna Reneau, can be heard repeatedly scolding a highly distressed Stevens throughout the call as her car fills with water.

The dispatcher told Stevens to "stop" crying and begging for help, Buzzfeed News reports.

"Am I not on the phone with you trying to get you some help?" Reneau responded to the woman's pleas.

"You're not gonna die, I don't know why you're freaking out. I know the water level is high... but you freaking out [is] doing nothing but losing your oxygen level up in there, so calm down," Reneau is heard saying to the 47-year-old. 

Stevens reportedly tells the dispatcher she is worried her new phone is going to run out of battery, to which Reneau responds: "Do you really care about your brand new phone? You're over there crying for your life."

The distressed woman starts apologising to the dispatcher, saying she didn't know what to do in the situation and didn't see the water before being swept away.

"This will teach you next time, don't drive in the water... I don't see how you didn't see it... the water just didn't appear," Reneau responded sharply.

According to a police timeline, first responders arrived at the scene less than 15 minutes after she called for help. However, the high levels of swiftly moving water and Stevens' inability to describe her exact location made it difficult to locate her vehicle.

Shortly before the end of the call, Reneau told Stevens to "shut up" as the terrified woman attempted to shout out her location to the dispatchers. She can later be heard screaming.

Rescuers reached Stevens, now dead, at 5:58am - almost an hour-and-a-half after she called 911. According to the timeline, first responders had to wait for a rescue boat to be delivered to the scene as the main roads were blocked by water.

 

In a press conference, chief of police Danny Baker said he "completely understands the outrage" following the audio's release. He also told reporters Stevens drowned on the last night Reneau was scheduled to work after submitting her resignation notice. 

The "tragic" audio was "very possibly the last call [Reneau] took," said Baker.

"She is equally upset that she was not able to save Mrs Stevens."

Police have started an internal investigation, although Reneau is exempt from the inquiry as she no longer works for the department.

Newshub.